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Topic: The Joys of Swarm Catching. (Read 1178 times)

Twas a really nice sunny Sunday morning and i decided to take a walk down to my hives with notebook to catch up onprevious observations. No sooner i got down there than on a low lying branch i spot a sizable swarm just hanging there.I figure its from one of mine and no big deal just catch it and box it up and enjoy a new hive, well i did this but later in the afternoon i went back down just to check that they were happily coming and going from their new box.And to my dismay the box was empty and up in the same tree there they were hanging about 4 to 5 meters up much harder to getdown.So out came the step ladder and extendable pole with bucket on end..... darn just 3 feet too short! so i extend it and off i go, bit of a shake and i get half in the bucket, lid on and wait for the remainder to settle.I decide to get my chainsaw on a pole out im going to cut the branch they are on, after fueling up down i go chainsaw in hand to get it done. When i get there they have moved higher up out of reach of the saw! are these girls phycic ? so plan B a few lumps of wood later im trying to hit the swarm and get them moving again, im a bad shot takes ages to make contact so they fall and fly again then they settle back where they were. I decide im going to hose them out so i drag down a hose and i learnt that the more water you hit them with the tighter a ball they make! truly amazing stuff i never knew this. so back to the stick plan, this time they have moved and i have them in my catching bucket, more are landing and going in so i think i might have them this time. I have picked a different box and different spot and added one frame of honey to help coax them to stay, fingers crossed! What a saga!! cheers re Neil

try to hive them at night or shut them in with ventilation in the day time for a day or two you can offer them a home if they take it its up to them i have had them stay for 3 days and then abandon me at the end of the day you win some and you lose some good story

Put some queen excluder over the entrance or between the bottom board & the super. The will always come back to the queen.

I ended up putting them in another box with honey and putting them on another site 5 klms up the road, they started coming out as soon as i boxed them so i shoved some grass into the entrance, i figure if they end up going then at least i tried, and at least they wont be able to make home in someones house where they are.